The Cherry Tree
by FlamingWolf
Summary: This is an AU very loosely based on the OAV character Reirei under a new name and situation and the manga...what if Tasuki had already given his loyalty to a priestess?
1. Prologue

The bandit landed lightly on the balls of his feet and glanced around, inwardly cursing his own stupidity once again. He knew Rui-Ni wanted him dead, and yet he once again had allowed his pride to get the better of him, found himself boasting that not only was he a good bandit, but that he was skilled enough to sneak into the royal palace of his country's enemy of Qu-Dong and walk out a rich man. He had been called on it, and he had to act, or shame his mentor, the bandit boss.

_And give half of my profit to that fat bastard, since he'll steal more than his fair share when we do divvy it up later. Stupid bandit, when will you learn to-_

He broke off. Quietly, he faded back into the shadows, his black cloak and soft-soled boots helping to give the appearance that there was nothing there, nothing but phantom shadows. He slipped a hand into an inside pocket, pulling out the spell card for his favorite battle wolf, a female named Suchiru. The wolf and clothing that had given him his name.

_She mothers me. If she knew the Alpha was 'theiving' again, she'd scold me like her pup._

_And then decide that I needed a bath, Alpha male or no. Strange girl. Maybe I should also call her mate._

Slowly, he pulled out the card for his male wolf as well, watching to see if the sound that had made him wary would be repeated. It was. He called forth Tu-Jin, but kept the wolf close to him as he slowly made his way towards the sound.

He froze. A woman stood there, scandalously dressed in men's clothing. Her black hair was tightly bound to her head, and her eyes were intent on her work. She lifted and carried away the dead branches, showing a strength that to his eyes was totally foreign in a woman. She was young, seeming to be his own age, but her hands were deeply scarred with whip weals. A slave woman, tending the emperor's gardens, dressed as a man. There was a deep sorrow in her deep, black eyes, and she seemed to be almost translucent. For a moment, he could almost believe he was seeing an earth spirit at work.

But what shook him to the core was that she was of his clan. She had the strong yet delicate features that marked her as one of Starclan. She was the first of his people he had seen since he was a child.

She was beautiful.

She paused a brief moment, rubbing her hands, and as she turned to go back to work, her eyes met his. She leaned against the cherry tree, barren as it was from the autumn chill, and trembled as she recognized him and what his presence meant.

And he suddenly realized, as a burning sensation erupted on his forearm, that within five years this woman would be dead.

Standing in the gardens of Qu-Dong, his eyes locked with those of a woman from his own clan, Chun-Yu swore an oath to himself that he would do everything in his power to keep her from dying.


	2. ChunYu and Ekie

There was a small village in the deepest part of the mountains along the border of the human nation of Hong-Nan. The difference must be emphasized here; those of Starclan were not human, and in fact prided themselves on being different. They were those who had been banished from their homes for various reasons, normally that they had for some reason insulted the prince of their people. Legend held that they had somehow come from the stars. How this had been, none but the elders knew, and most of the elders did not wish to speak, for various reasons, of the home-world. In time, they had found one another among the humans and built villages.

And most of them considered humans to be their much inferiors.

For Starclan was superior, physically. They were stronger, faster, lived much longer, had better endurance and better looks. They had delicate, fine bone structure, and noble features, though as a special idiosyncrasy, they all had pointed incisors. Fangs. Usually they had a color of hair that reflected their powers: earth mages had brown hair or hair with a greenish tint, water mages had a bluish tint, fire was usually fiery red, and those who belonged to the wind had long, flowing black. Eye color was generally black, brown, gray, or violet.

Only the strongest had blond hair and blue eyes. It was a mark of those with great potential, those who had the deepest wells of power.

Needless to say, Chun-Yu was a bit of a disappointment. He was born as blond and blue-eyed as it was possible to be, and his parents were thrilled. Their son was going to grow up to be one of the elite, strongest warriors or a greatly powered mage.

And he turned out to be the village weakling.

He had the warrior's spirit. He very enthusiastically joined in any of the training exercises and sparring matches. His code of honor was strong. His pride was firm.

He just couldn't keep up. His younger sister Ai-Tong was stronger than he was. And she teased him about it mercilessly.

"Man, Chun-chan!" She yelled across the practice ground at him, knowing perfectly well that he hated the nickname. "Is there any way you can humiliate yourself more?"

"Yeah, you yellin' at me!" He called back.

"That's not you humiliating yourself, that's me humiliating you," She pointed out practically. He growled, flashing his fangs at her in what he hoped was an intimidating manner.

"Aww, look at the puppy teeth! Maybe he'll grow into them someday!" Ai-Tong giggled. Chun-Yu flung himself at her, snapping at her throat with his teeth.

Five minutes later, she sat astride him, chewing at a loose fingernail. "Call for father, and I might let you up, weakling."

He growled a phrase he had learned from the warriors.

"Father! Chun-chan said-" She was cut off from behind as with a strength he had never known before, the young blond boy threw her off and clamped his right hand across her lips, desperate not to get into trouble for his mouth again. If Father knew he knew that language- He held on tightly, as she attempted to shake loose and only succeeded in pulling the sleeve from his arm.

His parents came running out to see a blinding red light burst from him. Written in Earthly _kanji_ on his right forearm was one word: _Tsubasa_. Wings.

Tasuki.

Chun-Yu sat quietly next to the door, listening intently to the conversation on the other side.

"Yes, but it is a human mark! All our priestess could tell us was that it was spiritual energy. She didn't recognize the god, so there was no way that she could train it! We have to consult a human priest on this!"

"I've read a human legend that she collected into our library; a prophesy if you will. Supposedly, there are supposed to be mighty warriors who have writing appear on their bodies dedicated to a god. We don't know which god to send him to, we could endanger him if a Starclan were to suddenly become known, a figure of their mythology. We could become known, become endangered!"

Chun-Yu silently crept away. They didn't want him. There was human writing on his arm, and they didn't want him anymore. They were going to make him go away to the humans and be a scholar. His own family wanted him to go away.

_Shen-Long bless it, I'm only eight! And they don't want me 'cause of a little mark on my arm that went away as soon as An-Tong and I stopped fighting._

_Damn humans. Damn An-Tong. If she hadn't gone ta tell on me..._

_It's all her fault. And mama wants to send me away._

_I hate girls._

"Chun-Yu? Chun-Yu, honey?" His mother shared a shrug with her husband. Chun-Yu was never this quiet, and he never refused to eat. He hadn't touched a bite of his breakfast.

"Son? Chun-Yu?" His father's mouth firmed. This once he wouldn't be ignored! "Chun-Yu, you will not dishonor your parents!"

The little blond Starclan boy looked up startled, then stood with a suddenness that threw over the chair.

"Fine! I've had it! I'm sick of being the weakest, I'm sick of being the one in trouble, and I'm sick of not being wanted!" Chun-Yu shouted. He turned and stalked angrily towards the door.

"Where are you going?" His mother cried out. He paused and shrugged.

"I'm outta here!" He responded, and ran out the door.

_Not my most intelligent moment…_ Chun-Yu thought, as he curled up tighter in the hollow of the tree, trying to ignore the cold and hunger. _At least, if I were home and they had sent me to be a scholar with the humans, I would be warm, with maybe an apprentice's meal in my stomach… And so I run away, towards the humans without anything, not even an apprenticeship. Idiot. I-_

His self-pitying moment was rather cruelly interrupted by a sound. He paused, trying to figure out what he was hearing, and the soft, rhythmic sound came again.

_ChichiRIN, ChichiRIN, Chirichirichirichi. ChichiRIN, ChichiRIN…_

_That's not a natural sound…_ The little boy thought, and crawled out of his tree to look down on the worn trail below him between the rocks. Traveling along the road to the rhythmic accompaniment of his staff was a Buddhist monk. Looking at him for a moment, Chun-Yu found himself thinking,

_He looks familiar. He looks like someone I once traveled with-_

_Or will someday._

Shaking his head, Chun-Yu fought his momentary visionary thought. He wasn't a spiritualist or particularly interested in superstition. Why would he have thought something so ridiculous at this particular moment?

_It has to be because he's a priest. Religion makes everyone crazy…_

His movement attracted the eye of the wandering monk, who turned to see what the movement was, as a sign blazed on his forehead. Chun-Yu gave a startled yelp and tumbled down the hill to land at the feet of the monk, who looked at him in some amusement.

"Am I really so shocking of a soul?" The wandering traveler asked with a grin that would have been infectious if Chun-Yu hadn't been so surprised.

"That mark! The one on your forehead! It looked like mine!" Chun-Yu garbled out, his eyes wide in his young face.

"You have the mark for the constellation of Ekie?" The monk asked, amusedly. Chun-Yu looked up at the man and gasped.

"You're old! You must be at least 260 years!"

The old monk blinked, surprised, then something his comrade Amefuri had said long ago was brought back into his mind, and he chuckled.

"I'm not Starclan, boy. I will not live to die of old age at three hundred. I am over ninety years old, which is ancient from a human. I live linger than most due to Subaru's power to enhance, and due to the celestial sign I bear. Walk with me a bit, or will you be expected home?"

"Nah, they were gonna make me a scholar, so I ran away. I'm not gonna go back 'til I'm strong enough to at least beat An-Tong." Chun-Yu said, bouncing to his feet and falling into step with the monk. "So tell me about this celestial sign, woncha? I got one too, but it's on my arm. It went away though."

"I served the priestess of Byakko as her celestial warrior, a long time ago when I was young. The mark that appears on my forehead shows everyone that I was destined to protect her."

"So does that mean I gotta find this priestess of Byakko chickie and protect her too? I don't wanna protect some chick. I hate women."

"No. My priestess summoned the god and went back to her own world. You will serve another; probably Suzaku since you wander through this land. May I see your arm?"

"Ain't nothin' to see. I only saw it when I got real mad at my sister, and she was gonna tell on me. I didn't let her, she ripped my sleeve, and—"

He broke off what he was going to say with a gasp, for as he talked, the monk took his arm and pushed the sleeve back, baring his arm. The man placed his finger tip on Chun-Yu's arm, and a foreign power raced through his blood, roaring like a cat in full battle fury. He stared at his arm as the sign appeared anew, blazing with a crimson glory: Tasuki.

The monk saw something else.

Ekie dropped the boy's arm and stepped back in alarm. There was something drastically strange here. While the boy was enamored of the mark on his forearm, Ekie's eyes had been caught by another feeling: that of his celestial ability to sense any and all magics. There had been Suzaku's powers; oh yes, a great deal of it. But Ekie had felt more celestial power, a different kind of celestial power.

Three other kinds of celestial power. Seiryu, Byakko, and Genbu.

For the briefest moment, he had also sensed the power of the mind from this boy, that of his comrade Kagasuki: moving things by looking at them. He had also sensed a Seiryu summoner and Genbu's wind. He watched the boy for a long, desperate moment, then shook himself as the boy began to rise out of his stupefication.

"Why don't you travel with me for a while? We both seem to be heading down the mountain, and you seem to be eating less well than I do. Mine is by career choices of abstinence. You, on the other hand are a growing boy."

"Does that mean I'm your 'prentice, and I gotta wear the dorky clothes?" Chun-Yu asked, tilting his head to one side with an impatient gesture.

"No, because I really don't think you're cut out for the priesthood. More importantly, I don't have any extra garments of the clergy with me, let along cut down for your size."

"OK. As long as I don't have to do any of that prayin' stuff to no human god…" Chun-yu said, falling in at the side of the priest.

"Not at all," Ekie replied with a low chuckle. "The god I serve isn't human."

**A/N:** Ten points of extra-credit for anyone who figured out that Starclan were Saiyans. Seriously, watch DBZ, listen to their description of what a Saiyan is, and then tell me that the Celestial Warriors aren't Saiyan. All of them. Except maybe Chiriko. Is there such a thing as a scholarly Saiyan? Yes, I am taking liberties with Uruki (chest), Miboshi (neck), and Kagasuki (left forearm). So sue me.

Actually, Watase-sensei, please don't.


	3. Twins

In a small village just on the Hong-Nan side of the border, a man stumbled up the road. He gently steadied a woman who was pale and weak, and greatly with child. An older woman of about fifty in the village's center watched them come, then looked up the road. A few hours previously, a shining star had fallen seemingly out of the constellation of Tomite, and there had been a slight earthquake as it hit the ground. The old woman was wise and she knew her legends. The man had a desperate look in his eye as he aided the woman, and the old crone lifted her head.

"Come along inside here," She said, her eyes knowing. "I know who and what you are traveler. Do not speak in the open."

Inside the house, the crone made the woman comfortable, and within hours delivered a set of twins from the starclan woman. Making her comfortable, the crone turned at last to the father, a well-muscled man who seemed delighted with his new offspring.

"You're one of those Starclan, and your Star fell to earth. I hate to tell you, the nearest village of your kind is up on Lige-San Mountain, and that's too far of a walk for your woman." She told him. His eyes darkened.

"I do not wish to ever see one of my race again," He snarled bitterly as the woman cleaned the daughter, little Kang-Lian, and laid her on the bed next to Gui-Xiu, the son. The twins curled up together, sleeping peacefully, and the man spoke his tale.

His name was Gui-Rong, and he had been an elitest class warrior on the homeworld of the Starclan. He had met and fallen in love with the daughter of the Lian line, which was one of the more powerful families. It was said that the Lians were descended from the Dragon God Shen-Long, and Yu-Lian had the seeress abilities that ran through the women in her family. However, the Prince had felt threatened by the joining of his most powerful warrior and such a spiritually gifted woman, and as such, had banished the lovers when it was discovered that Yu-Lian was pregnant.

The old woman sensed that she had not had all of the story, but the Gui-Rong was bitter and would say no more. Her heart went out to the banished couple, and she impulsively reached out and took Gui-Rong's hand.

"She is now the daughter of my estranged sister. No one will find it odd that she has come back to me in my twilight years. You can start over in this village and in a few generations, your family will be invisible in these mountains." The woman said.

"But won't they know if your sister's family really does show up?" Gui-Rong asked, concernedly.

"My sister died a virgin in the flooding of the river twenty-three years ago. There is no family to complicate the issue." The woman promised with a slight smile.

&

The twins grew happily, immersed in their new world as children become. Little Gui-Xiu and Kang-Lian were inseparable from the day they were born. Gui-Rong wished only to continue to live as humans in his new profession as farmer, but one day when the twins were four, things changed.

Kang-Lian was a bright-eyed, enthusiastic little thing who always wanted to be wherever her twin was. Gui-Xiu had gone off to play with one of the village boys while she had been finishing her breakfast, and she went running after him, only to be confronted by a village boy known for bullying.

"You can't go there. He went to the river to swim. Only boys can swim," he informed her. Kang-Lian looked at him with large eyes, but tried to slip around him and go to the water.

"You hear me, girl? You can't go with him. Go back to the house and stay there."

She was frightened and couldn't move, and the boy took that as a refusal. Angry that the child would not obey him as a girl should, he knocked her to the ground and began to beat her head into the hard-packed earth, rock solid after the recent drought.

Gui-Xiu sensed his sister's pain, and her chi began to drop. A burning sensation erupted across his forhead, and he ran towards the village, even as the other boys began to shout in wonderment as a symbol appeared on his brow. He jumped the bully, giving him the same treatment he had been giving Kang-Lian, until Yu-Lian appeared and separated the two combatants, her othersight kicking in as the event was happening.

Yu-Lian had been a seeress for so long that she recognized the promptings of fate. If that had not been intended to happen, she would have seen it in time to stop it. She was troubled, and took the boy to their benefactress.

"Tamahome," The old woman read the sign. She sighed deeply and pulled her chair closer to the fire. She told the history of the priestesses of Byakko and Genbu, then explained the legend. "This boy is destined to protect the priestess of Suzaku."

"And my daughter?" Yu-Lian asked. "She exhibits no power that I can sense."

"Gui-Xiu," Kang-Lian spoke up, shyly. "I always know when he's hurt. Other than that, I'm perfectly normal, aren't I?"

"It's true, mama," Tamahome chimed in. "I cut my hand the other day and hers started to bleed."

"A wound-share," Yu-Lian breathed in horror. The legends of women who were so tightly bound to the men in their life that they shared the wounds of the man so as to share his fate were seen as some to be romantic, and to others to be terrifying. Sometimes the link was to a mate, at others to a brother or father. Starclan women lived in dread that their daughter would be the next wound-share, though the last one had been in legend nearly five centuries before, a member of the Lian line. She had died in front of a crowd at court when her mate had been suffocated by a sudden loss of cabin pressure in space, asphyxiating in vacuum in an atmospherically sound room planetside. The wounds on the woman were of spiritual origin and could not be tended to. Only tending the wound on the male would save her.

&

Though Yu-Lian was afraid of what this meant for her daughter, the more immediate problem was the knowledge that her son was to become a protector for a woman who had not yet even appeared in this world. She began to teach her children about their Starclan heritage.

Kang-Lian, she began to train to be a priestess, though she did not have the obvious divine power of the High Priestesses. She was taught the properties of healing herbs, and it seemed she had a natural affinity for them.

Those herbs were what completely changed the lives of the twins forever. The following year, Yu-Lian became pregnant again, and she sent Kang-Lian to the edge of the forest to gather herbs for the family to use in the coming cold season.

She never returned home.

Frantically, Yu-Lian stretched her Othersight to the limit in her attempts to locate her daughter, while Gui-Rong searched the forest calling desperately for the girl. Tamahome huddled in the corner, unable to move. All he could say was that she was gone and he didn't know where to.

The herb-basket was found by the river, which was running high that year. The village assumed that the girl had to have drowned, and that Yu-Lian's pregnancy had kept her from being able to See the girl's fate.

Tamahome wept.


	4. Changes

Chun-Yu placed the last stone on top of the cairn, weeping bitterly. He sank to his knees, his hands clenched around the spell-cards he had been learning to use. The last four years of his life had been among the best he had ever experienced, traveling about the land and listening to exciting tales of being a Celestial Warrior. Ekie had been a great teacher, and now all the boy had of him was a few spell cards ("I'd rather you learned to summon animals rather than monsters, if you bear the ability to summon.") and the clothes on his back. He lay there, sobbing, for quite some time, not entirely sane in his grief.

It was movement that brought the boy back to his senses. He saw a boot appear before him in the mud, standing on the grave he lay across. He began to lift his head, angry words on his lips for the disrespect, when a huge hand descended to capture his arm in a strong grip.

"A right pretty little foreigner, hmm?" The grossly fat man chortled. Chun-Yu stared at him with protestations dying on his lips as he saw the sheer bulk of the man… and the number of followers at his back. "What do you say, boys? Do we sell him, or do we keep him?"

"The boss don' like slavery," A youngster of around Chun-Yu's own age who carried enormous packs protested weakly, sounding as if he expected to be beaten for having an opinion.

"Well, the boss ain't gotta know!" The man growled, cuffing the boy. Seizing the momentary distraction, Chun-Yu kicked the man fiercely in the shin. The man howled and dropped Chun-Yu, who turned and fled into the woods, running for all he was worth. The sounds of pursuit grew louder as he ran, and he risked a momentary glance over his shoulder to check their distance… only to run into something firm and solid. He leapt backwards and looked up to see another man looming over him, though this one was a largeness of muscle, not of fat.

Chun-Yu snarled, and tugged the top-most spell card from the pack. He glanced at the name on it, relieved to see that it was his favorite of the wolves, a young bitch-pup named Suchiru. "Help me!" He cried to her, sending her to stand between himself and this second group of shady characters. The magical creature- the size of a full grown wolf, though she was a pup herself- appeared from midair, growling as she crouched between the boy she had taken as her alpha and the threat. Immediately, the man froze, signaling those behind him to stop as well. In a very mild voice, he said,

"That's an interesting trick, boy. Illusion?"

"No," Chun-Yu said, wary. "Summoning. The old priest taught me."

"Ah," The man said and nodded. "This is a dangerous mountain outside of the village, boy, so I suggest you get back home where you belong."

"Ain't gotta home," Chun-Yu said defiantly, before realizing that might not be the safest information to be giving out. He edged closer to Suchiru, who growled deep in her throat. The man seemed unfazed.

"Is that so?" He murmured, lost in thought. There was dead silence from the men who followed him, and the sounds of pursuit had broken off almost a minute before. He dared not risk a look behind him. "In that case… have you ever thought of becoming a bandit? I could use a likely boy who had talents along the lines of yours."

"You just want a wolf army," He murmured quietly. His stomach growled loudly, reminding him that it had been a while since he had eaten last.

"What are you afraid of?" The man asked quietly. Chun-Yu's head shot up, an angry answer on his lips at the insinuation that he feared anything. There was something in the man's eyes that made him lower his head again and ask warily,

"Ya ain't gonna sell me?"

"No," The man's voice was reassuring, almost gentle. "I just want that magnificent creature at my disposal… and something tells me that once you've grown a bit, you could be one of the most able men on this mountain."

"Ya ain't gonna use me for, well, ya know?" Chun-Yu persisted, his voice a little stronger on that accusation. The man looked honestly confused, and rather angry.

"Of course not! What would-?"

"Betcha he was running from Rui-Ni," One of his followers commented, jerking his chin up at something over Chun-Yu's head. The boss sighed and muttered,

"I'm going to have to do something about him…" Then added more loudly, "Alright, boys, take the new recruit home and get him some food. You-" Here he pointed over Chun-Yu's shoulder, and he risked a glance to see the enormously fat man behind him. "-and I are going to have words."

&

She kept her head down as she came into the dining room, carefully carrying the steaming tray of food. Her own stomach growled, and she silently told it to hush, that she would eat with the other slaves later.

_Too little, and only after everyone else._ Part of her whispered rebelliously. She ignored that part. She couldn't remember a time when she hadn't worked as a slave in m'lord's household in Qu-Dong, couldn't remember a time when she had enough to eat. The earliest memory she had was of a gentle woman teaching her to heal with plants, and a boy who loved her, a boy with a glowing sign on his head… her twin. She felt the pouch of herbs bounce against her thigh. The mistress had decided that she would one day make a fine healer and had her trained as a gardener to complement her skill. Her plants were the only thing that she could do right.

Especially these days. M'lord watched her constantly as she went about her chores in the garden in the morning, and served M'lady at night. The Lady had become increasingly angry with her, finding fault in every move she made, and mocking her for everything from her short stature, to her foreign accent, to the way she cried when her body had begun to change and blood had appeared one night for no apparent reason.

"You are now a woman," The cook had whispered to her late one night as she secretly taught the girl womanly arts, hoping with the little woman that someday, if she were talented, a low-born man would seek to marry her and thus free her from bondage. "The Lady is growing old and has lost most of the beauty of her youth. You are young, and a woman, and the beauty is fresh within you. She fears your power."

Though she did not know it, it was with jealousy that the mistress of the house watched the little slave as she placed the dishes carefully on the table. There were guests this night, and Kang-Lian was afraid of shattering the best china in the house. The master nodded approvingly at his little possession, and nodded the darker of the two generals present towards her. The man lifted an eyebrow, then smiled with cold amusement. As swiftly as a striking snake as she placed a plate before him, he reached and caught at her hips.

Kang-Lian shrieked, dropping the priceless plate, which shattered on the floor. In a heartbeat, she was away from him, holding her tray before her to shield herself from his advances. The mistress leapt across the room, catching her by the hair and yanking her out onto the veranda.

"You little slattern!" The woman hissed, knocking her to the floor. "How dare you humiliate us in front of our guests! And that plate was more than four times your worth!"

She called out to another slave, one who was trained in the punishment of others. He came, already uncoiling his whip as he did so. She tried to rise, to run, almost insane in her fright. He caught her easily, yanking her garments to bare her to the waist, then spun her about, the whip cracking loudly across her back. She cried out, and another lash opened the skin. She heard the whistle of another descending stroke and flinched, but it never arrived.

She opened her eyes, turning slightly to look. The blonde general stood there, holding the whip in his curled fist as the mistress and Master of Discipline backed away.

"So much over a plate?" He asked in a deceptively mild tone. He looked directly at the cowering girl, and his eyes widened. He recognized her, in a flash of insight from a youth he had tried to suppress. She was of the same clan he was. He felt for her _chi_ and almost reeled backwards.

"A chosen of the gods, hmm?" He mused to himself, and Kang-Lian had the feeling that only she could hear his words. "You do not feel exactly like a priestess, nor like a Celestial Warrior, small one. More as though you were a minor god yourself, or the daughter of a god. I wish to investigate this further." In a louder voice, he asked her,

"What are your accomplishments, little girl?"

She had to swallow thrice before she answered, "I am a gardener who knows of the healing properties of plants, m'lord. I also have a very little skill at cookery and weaving."

He appraised her for a long moment, then tossed a bag of gold to the mistress, who seemed stunned at its weight. "Cover yourself girl. It is not seemly that a servant of Nakago should go with her breasts bared to the perusal of any passing man."

&

Far away, a seeress sagged with relief. The girl would be safe until her destiny rose to meet her. She gave birth to her third and final daughter. Calling for her weeping eldest son and her husband, she instructed the boy,

"Tend to your siblings, and when you are a man, seek your twin. Kang-Lian yet lives."

Gui-Xiu promised, stunned that his beloved sister still walked the Earth and had not drowned in the river. Yu-Lian smiled at her eldest son and mate, then closed her eyes and left the world as the baby Jie-Lian slept peacefully at her side.


End file.
